The RACER Mailbag, March 30

Welcome to the RACER Mailbag. Questions for any of RACER’s writers can be sent to mailbag@racer.com. Due to the high volume of questions received, we can’t guarantee that every letter will be published, but we’ll answer as many as we can. Published questions may be edited for length and clarity. Questions received after 3pm ET each Monday will appear the following week.

Q: Texas was a great race, and I agree with your article saying Texas should remain on the calendar. Maybe since IndyCar isn’t making any money from ticket sales at some races, it might consider doing a free race, open to the public. Draw the people in with a freebee, the track could sell all those extra beers and hot dogs, open the pits to everyone. When people actually see these cars in real life, they find out how exciting they are.

What is up at RLL? Bad qualifying at both races, except for Jack Harvey’s crash. Someone needs to coach Graham on how to qualify. He’s a great driver otherwise. And did you see Ferrucci’s drive of the day?  Of course you did. Someone, please hire this guy!  Maybe Ferrucci, Magnussen and Oriol Servia can start a substitute driver business. Super Subs for hire!

Andretti – what? I’m beginning to believe that Rossi won’t get a break until he leaves Andretti.

Last but not least, Jimmie Johnson. Even I was losing faith in him late last year, but he looked pretty good at Texas. Maybe there’s life in the old dog yet.

Sean Raymond

MP: RLL and Arrow McLaren SP are the two biggest surprises for me so far; I expected both organizations to take leaps forward with RLL being the one with the most ground to gain between the two. Felix Rosenqvist’s pole at Texas was an indicator of his renewed potential, but he sank like a rock at the start and despite some of his patented ballsy passes, Pato O’Ward didn’t really factor up front.

RLL’s been beset with a lot of misfortune, so I look forward to seeing how they fare at Long Beach. As for Rossi, it’s growing harder to disagree. Jimmie’s run was great to watch and I expect to see more on the remaining ovals.

Q: It was terrible to have the Texas race competing against March Madness. The NCAA tournament is in full swing and was being played in Fort Worth the same weekend. The early start time did not help the crowd. I hope the race is held again on a Saturday night in June, as it was pre-COVID and pre-All-Star race. I get that TMS may not want it so close to the All-Star race, but a Saturday night race would be a better draw. Maybe IndyCar could end the season at TMS?

Mike C.

MP: I’d welcome the return to a night race, but there’s no way in hell it should ever be considered to close the season unless it gets back to having proper crowds.

Q: I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, and aside from the HyVee QR code ad campaign, I think I can safely say that this year's XPEL 375 at the Texas Motor Speedway was the worst advertised and worst locally covered IndyCar event ever held at TMS. I never saw one ad placed by TMS or IndyCar, and I never saw one story about it in any of the local non-NBC news or sports media, before or after the race. The post-race coverage was focused on the weekend's NASCAR event. It was as if IndyCar didn't even come to town.

If IndyCar decides to stay at TMS, it needs to at least make its presence known to potential fans in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. And if the drivers really want to stay here as much as they say, they need to commit to helping the publicity effort. There was not one driver appearance scheduled that I was aware of leading up to the race. Work together, folks, and get some butts back in the stands.

Lee Jackson, Garland, TX

MP: I saw this in the 7-Eleven two miles away from the track in Roanoke, Texas. That was the only IndyCar-related signage I came across outside TMS.

Maybe the race fans had too many of these and forgot how to get to the track.

Q: Do you, or anyone else for that matter, actually believe that the racing fans in the great state of Texas have ever, are now, or ever will be IndyCar fans? I truly see very little evidence of that, now or in the past. Promotion here or there, it's hard to breathe passion into a population that just doesn't really get into that.

Werner Fritz, WI

MP: Yes. I’ve seen it at TMS, but I had more hair and fewer pounds when that was the case. Houston drew fans at certain times in its evolution. Cars and racing are a big part of the culture, so I don’t doubt the race can be saved. But IndyCar put on a few years of garbage races because of the problems caused by PJ1 and the lack of willingness to experiment with solutions to work around the problem. Nobody wants to show up to a movie or its sequels that have been box office failures. Now that IndyCar has something that will work at Texas, it’s time to see if its lapsed audience might want to return.

Q: In the article about fan attendance (or lack thereof) at Texas, you mentioned races where the track is rented and implied this isn’t always the case. Can you explain what this means and what the differences are between when a race is on a "rented" track vs the alternative?

Adam Joseph, Indianapolis, IN

MP: Most tracks pay a sanction fee to IndyCar, like a concert hall pays a band or comedian to come and perform, and then it’s on them to sell enough tickets, concessions, etc., to recoup their costs and make a profit. In select instances, IndyCar pays the track to rent the facility and takes it upon itself to sell tickets, food, etc., and earn a profit. At my home track in Monterey, for example, the county records show that it pays IndyCar $1.5 million to put on a race. The track actually loses money on the event, but covers the losses from its far more popular Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion event which rakes in a lot of money. IndyCar doesn’t have to concern itself on the financial side; it gets paid no matter what, but will the track want to sign an extension if it can’t generate a meaningful crowd and profit?

That’s why we see the series going nuts in the promotion of the Iowa event where it’s incumbent upon the series to recoup its investment in putting on the event with Hy-Vee since the track is no longer forking out the nice sanction fee. That’s why I noted the need for IndyCar to either treat future Texas races like it was a rental, or to do a full rental and apply the pressure on itself to ensure it promotes the heck out of the thing out of a fear of losing money if it fails.

Q: If PJ1 is a traction compound laid down for NASCAR races at TMS, why is it not suitable for IndyCar? I don't get it.

Jerry, Houston, TX

MP: Hi Jerry. If you go back and read one of the many articles I wrote leading into Texas on the topic, you’ll find the answers.

Q: After reading Marshall’s article on the lack of fans at Texas, I might have an idea to bring back the full crowds. IndyCar just needs to hire a carnival barker, who will stand outside the grocery stores, auto parts stores, and anywhere there is a crowd, and yell the following: “IndyCar fans, come one come all, this Sunday only to see the 'Great Santino' the greatest daredevil racing driver of our time. Watch as he starts in the back then thrills the crowd with his daring passes and blinding speed. Tell your friends, tell your families. Don’t miss seeing the Great Santino."

Even though IndyCar probably won’t use my idea, can someone explain how Santino Ferrucci doesn’t have a ride? I seem to remember RLL was auditioning Askew, Ferrucci, and Lundgaard. My money was on Santino because he had already driven the team’s future third car to some high quality finishes. Also, he did great interviews, always smiling and putting a positive spin on his IndyCar experience. I continue to be disappointed when money and ride buying wins out over talent. To anyone in marketing or PR, let’s find a way in the 21st century to not lose guys like the Great Santino.

Rick Schneider, Charlotte, NC

MP: My friend and ace PR man Steve Shunck has the loudest voice on earth, so I’m nominating him for the carny barker role. Outside of the items mentioned about why Santino doesn’t have a ride in the last Mailbag, another item to consider is the belief that the life-long road racer is more of an oval specialist. Granted, his oval performances are what have jumped out as exemplary, but I’m not sure he’s been given enough credit for his road and street course output. He has 10 top-10s on the roads and streets from 42 total races, including the ovals. That’s not something to be overlooked.

Well, A.J. likes him. Michael Levitt/Motorsport Images

Q: This year’s race was so much better than the two races there last year. I attended the Texas races last year, but due to the single file racing choose not to return this year. I live in Indiana so going to a race in Texas is not a cheap journey. Instead, I attended my first street race at St. Pete this year. I enjoyed it, but still prefer oval racing. However if IndyCar could consistently perform at Texas as it did this year (or better), I would make the trip again.

In addition to all three races at Indy this year, I plan to attend Road America, Iowa and World Technology Speedway, so I am not a causal fan. As with many others, I would love to see more ovals in the Midwest. I have supported oval races in the past at Milwaukee, Kentucky, Iowa and  Michigan. I know it is early to be talking about scheduling for next year, but do you hear any rumbling about more/new ovals for 2023?

Bill Oliver, Terre Haute, IN

MP: Nothing firm by any means, Bill, but the desire for more ovals is a drumbeat the series needs to hear over and over again until the message is not only received, but is acted upon. Don’t underestimate the power of social media. Some, but not all, of IndyCar’s leadership are on the major social media platforms; let your voices be heard.

Q: How big a factor in the pitiful effort by TMS was the retirement of Eddie Gossage? I’m of the opinion there was no better event promoter in American racing, but he seemed to be overruled often by his bosses in recent years and finally gave up (and good for him, he’s earned retirement). But TMS has more issues than just Indy crowds; NASCAR races are unwatchable since the track change. That place used to be the crown jewel of 1.5-milers.

Jason Galvin

MP: Eddie will always be known as an inventive promoter who loved TMS more than anybody. It’s also not as if the crowds were strong up to his retirement and fell off a cliff afterwards. The audience has been small for years, so I wouldn’t pin the hopes for a grand fix or the blame on him or any one staff member.

As I wrote last week, IndyCar needs to take major responsibility for promoting the event if it’s kept on the calendar, but the part I didn’t write is it sure would be smart to engage Chris Blair, the general manager of Gateway/WWTR, and his amazing promotions team, to see if they’d be willing to help the series help Texas. Not to the point of taking away from ticket sales for his track, but as the one truly exceptional oval promoter on the schedule, it would be in IndyCar’s interest to beg and plead for Blair & Co. to sprinkle some of its creativity and fan-first approach to get its TMS event in order. And for WWTR’s help, I’m sure IndyCar could help Blair with whatever he needs.

Q: I live in the Fort Worth area, a short drive from TMS. I am friends with several racing fans here in the North Texas area and have been talking with them about attending events at the track. We all agree that it is nice that we are able to bring in some refreshments, but the biggest complaint that most of us have is that when that supplies runs out and we want to purchase some more, the track vendors only take credit cards. We are fed up with places that do not take cash anymore. I will spend time at Eagles Canyon and Motorsports Ranch where they take cash.

Not taking cash is not the whole problem with low attendance, but it is an element of it. Things that I did not see this year that I have seen in the past: no Indy show cars on display at sponsor facilities, no driving the Indy show cars through the streets of downtown or the tourist areas (Stockyards/Deep Ellum). There is a lot of racing in Texas and fans to support it. Generate some excitement before the show to let the race fans know that some of the best racing in the world is happening right here at TMS.

Jerry May, Fort Worth, TX

MP: I’m not kidding when I say IndyCar would be wise to create a HowToFixOurTMSEvent@IndyCar.com email address to solicit feedback from folks like yourself and others who want the event to return and succeed. The laundry list of shortcomings needs to be received, understood, and processed if there’s any hope of fixing the attendance problem.

Q: My question is about the Penske dynasty. I don't remember any driver being as successful as Helio (winning the 500) after being let go by Penske, at least in IndyCar. Does anyone else come to mind as having a successful IndyCar career after being KO'ed by The Captain?

Ed, Hickory Hills

MP: Paul Tracy won an Indy 500 (sorry, couldn’t resist) and became a CART champion after getting the Penske axe. Tom Sneva had a lot of success, wins, and took an Indy 500 victory after driving for RP. And after The Gas Man and The Thrill from West Hill, I’m drawing a blank.

Q: I can’t figure out why IndyCar persists with some events in the U.S. that attract so few fans. Why race at Texas in front of 5,000 fans when it could race in Australia or New Zealand in front of 100,000, especially now we have a new superstar in Scott McLaughlin to add to established stars Will Power and Scott Dixon. Texas was a fantastic motor race and this is shaping up as a classic season, but IndyCar should capitalize on the popularity of the three-time Supercars champion.

Ken Bright, Melbourne, Australia

MP: It absolutely could head down under if someone paid the bills for it to happen. The relatively inexpensive costs of driving to and from Texas compared to funding air freight to send the cars halfway around the world is the current limitation. Count me among those who can’t wait for the day when we get to go back to Australia.

Q: I usually refrain from writing, as I have family involved in IndyCar and don't want anything I might say to be confused with them. But I would like to point out something I've noticed over the years, and that's the hard-working guys on the pit crews and how they often get passed over in any follow-up when one is injured.

The drivers seem to all get interviewed as they come out of the care center, but we seldom get to hear the status of crew members after they're injured. Norm took a solid hit when Pato came into his pit box and still was able to complete his tasks, much like a quarterback still completing his pass as he's being sacked by a bunch of defensive linemen!

I'm hoping you could suggest to your friends at NBC to close this loop. The NBC post-race show was fantastic! But it would have been nice to hear more of how Norm was doing, either at the end of the race, or in the post-race show.

The guys on the crews are too often the forgotten foot soldiers the keep the wheels of the sport we love rolling!

William W. Vincent IV

MP: All great points. Arrow McLaren SP’s main communications man Phil Zielinski was quick to send us an update on Norm Hornitschek once he had a formal assessment from IndyCar’s medical team, so kudos to him and AMSP for being extremely proactive. I texted Norm on Monday to see how he was doing since a hit like that can take a little while for the swelling to fully appear. He’s a gamer and won’t let a little thing like a hit from an Indy car slow him down.

Post-Penske glory for P.T. Motorsport Images

Q: The first IndyCar race I ever attended was Cleveland in 1988, and Mario won in front of close to 80,000. When Paul Tracy won a Lights race in '90 at the same track there was easy 40k. Every year I attend Mid-Ohio, and right around 2014-15 I couldn't help but notice an increase in fans. As much as we fear saturation of markets, we should saturate the markets. Put on races where you know the fans will show up. The only problem with the Texas race is that it was in Texas. Even though there are plenty of quality fans in the area, I'm afraid it's just not enough. Lastly, can I get a shout-out to all my fellow fans that want the Milwaukee race brought back? I love you all like a brother and feel your pain!

Steve, Lorain, OH

MP: It’s time for me to come clean. I miss all the weekly Mailbag questions about when Milwaukee was coming back, so I started the rumor at Texas to cheer me up.

Yep, and IndyCar has exacting data on which national and regional markets, which states, and which  cities consume its product more than the others. If it means two races at Mid-Ohio or trying to develop a street race in Louisville, going where you’re wanted is an age-old practice that never stops making sense.

Q: Close your eyes and picture the scene. It’s a nice summer day, A nice Lake Erie breeze in your face, you have a frosty beverage in your hand. You’re sitting in a full grandstand, because the track is easily accessible to people from upstate New York to Michigan. You have great sightlines – in fact, you can see the whole road course from your seat. The track is super-fast with three or four real passing zones. The track is walking distance to downtown attractions. It’s great, right? Nah, let’s go to tracks where the racing is bad and let’s go to tracks where nobody shows up.

Seriously, recent history has shown, fans prefer road courses. I know I do. I scratch my head when I see IndyCar going to Texas and now Iowa and maybe Milwaukee knowing full well they’re going to be a flop. Even the proposed Detroit track: we know ahead of time it’s a bad track layout, yet we’ll race there anyhow.

Race fan, Niagara Falls, NY

MP: Race fans also love ovals. It’s our foundation in IndyCar. Long may it live.

Q: Penske. Penske. Ganassi. Penske. Ganassi. Ganassi. Ganassi. Everybody else.

And you wonder why the stands are empty?

Mike, Cincinnati, OH

MP: I wish that made sense, my friend. The people avoiding the race would need to be time travelers or psychics who knew the race would be dominated by Penske and Ganassi and opted to skip it before it took place. Or are you saying tens of thousands of race fans who live in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth area are also time travelers and psychics? I’m so confused.

Q: If IndyCar was serious about getting rubber down on the second groove at Texas, why didn't they make it mandatory and provide extra tires, and do it before the first official practice? That way there would have been more rubber down, and everyone would get to practice with it there, so they might actually race on it.

Doug Viall

MP: IndyCar does not own the cars or teams (Penske not included), so it can’t mandate, force, or insist small business owners place their assets and employees at risk if those owners do not want to take part in a session. That’s the overriding thing here; the series asked every team and got six volunteers, then got a surprise seventh.

As for the timing, rubber needed to be put down on the main lower lane first, and with qualifying as the session immediately following the first, teams weren’t interested in experimenting with the second groove to start the event. Working on base setup confirmations and qualifying simulation runs is where the teams wanted to focus their efforts, so that’s what they did, and with qualifying over, the desire to go and play a bit with the second lane became an acceptable option for those seven.

Q: A year or so ago we were hearing rumors of an IndyCar return to Homestead that included the track hosting preseason testing. Obviously that didn’t work out for this season, but do we know if that’s something still being discussed, or is it dead?

The only things I’ve heard has been about a possible return to Milwaukee but I fear that won’t be enough, especially if Texas is out.

Thomas, Orlando, FL

MP: I’d heard there might have been some interference being run by some folks who like Homestead being a stock car track. I haven’t heard anything lately to suggest it will be back on the schedule, but would love to go back. We had some wild CART and pre-Dallara DW12 IndyCar Series races there.

CART could draw a crowd at Homestead back in the day. But then CART could draw a crowd at most places. Phil Abbott/Motorsport Images

Q: What an exciting race at Texas. For the first time other than the Indy 500, I watched every lap of a race. Now that we know the race needs to stay on the schedule, how can IndyCar and Texas fill the seats? Other than the obvious race date and start time, my thoughts are other on track support. Can we bring the USAC Sprint Cars and Midgets and have them run the dirt track Saturday night after IndyCar practice and qualifying? Can we run the Trans Am Series on Saturday? Didn't Texas at one point have a makeshift road course in the infield? Since NASCAR only has one true Cup weekend, maybe IndyCar and the Xfinity Series could double on a Texas weekend?

Andy, St Mary's, OH

MP: I’m digging the Trans Am idea, Andy, and yes, it’s just strange to hold a major motor race at a major venue where one, and only one, series is on the menu. Years ago, Texas had the Rallycross series on the undercard with wild 600hp VWs and Subarus and Dodges leaping through the infield section in front of pit lane. Put on some Legends races on the mini oval that uses the front straight and pit lane, or even better, bring the Road to Indy to TMS and have them run the mini oval. Call Mike Lashmett and get his Vintage Indy Registry group down to Texas and let some history Indy cars put on a show. Put up a boxing ring at start/finish and get PT and Bourdais to throw a few punches and reenact their Champ Car feud. If IndyCar and TMS are want to put butts in seats, it’s not going to happen by going small and conservative.

Q: Regarding FN's comment in last week's Bag about TV audio, I was having the same issue. I resolved it by fiddling with the sound options on my TV. took a bit of experimenting, but I got it to where I can hear the voices much more clearly. Of course, I suppose this will invite snarky remarks from those that don't like the announcing team about changing their settings so they can't hear Diff and company!

Great "Final Word" anecdote about Bentley Warren. What a character! If I can mention the competition, he did a segment on "Dale Jr Download" that is absolutely priceless.

Russ from Plainfield, NJ

MP: I’ve been extra happy for Dale Jr. in his second career in the media. Never met the guy, but he comes across as settled and fulfilled, be it on a commentary team or on his podcast. That’s a joyous place to reach in life, and I can’t say I saw either of those attributes stand out while he was driving.

Q: I’m reading the Mailbag and thinking that if the TMS race was held at Fontana, it would’ve been the same crowd. But IndyCar wouldn’t have gone to Fontana just before Long Beach unless there were a deal on tickets. Buy a LBGP ticket, get a Fontana ticket for $10.

I made my first visit to Fontana not long ago and I couldn’t believe how nice a facility it is, in such a beautiful spot. Hell, you could almost offer a California Triple Crown with best results for Fontana, Long Beach and Monterey.

I know Fontana’s been a dead horse around here, but if we’re going to have crowds as thin as at Texas, let’s at least have them at a place where there are more than 1.5 grooves of racing.

Bill Bailey up in Fresno

MP: Fontana is indeed a special place. Not so much when its super hot and the wind is blowing and all of the nearby trash at the landfill overwhelms the facility, but other than that, no doubt: A lot of money was invested in the place and I’d love to go back if we knew a proper crowd would join us.

Q: I find it funny how this whole Mailbag thing becomes a platform to bash and trash NASCAR. As I prefer NASCAR to IndyCar (though I follow, like and respect both), I feel I need to say this: Are you really that jealous of NASCAR being more popular than IndyCar? I get different preferences and all, but maybe show some respect for other forms of motorsports. Why can't we just be all racing family instead of s*itting on series we don't follow?

Also, didn't really appreciate your take on Kyle Larson and his chances to succeed in IndyCar. Your quote: "… but I don’t think anyone would be afraid of him on road and street courses.” Really? Sure, NASCAR drivers are oval specialists, but the fact that Jimmie (who was never a road racer) struggles so much on road courses mean others would struggle as much.

Also, another quote from Mr Marshall: "…step up to a much higher state of technology in IndyCar or F1 where simply being an amazing talent behind the wheel isn’t enough to win races and championships.” Isn't that a bit disrespectful? Just want to remind you that Dario Franchitti or Sam Hornish (superstars of IndyCar) struggled badly in NASCAR while Kurt Busch "stepped up to a much higher technology in IndyCar" and was sixth in its biggest race of the year in a one-off performance. Duh.

Szymon Kunda, Poland

MP: There you go.

"These things are easy. You don't even have to worry about getting your finger jammed in the window net when you're giving someone the bird." Brian Cleary/Motorsport Images

Q: Seems that prevailing thought is that Milwaukee only joins the IndyCar schedule for next year at the expense of Texas. Wouldn’t another option be only doing one Iowa race and having five oval races on five different tracks?

Cade F. Morton, IL

MP: There you go thinking again, Cade. Please stop sending in rational ideas. Kidding aside, the attendance figures at Iowa will answer that question for IndyCar. If it’s two jam-packed races, keep both and add another oval. If both races are half-full, one’s the answer.

Q: I’m curious about the thinking behind the scheduling of the first four IndyCar races this year. It’s not a matter of location, it’s a matter of the inexplicable three-week gaps between the first four races that have left avid IndyCar fans scratching our collective noggins. I realize a second race at Texas was dropped this year, but wouldn’t it be prudent for the powers that be to be a little more cognizant of filling in these scheduling voids going forward? We’ve come off an incredibly entertaining 2021 season, with significantly improved TV ratings and attendance, big-time momentum heading into the current season – and this is the best we can do? C’mon IndyCar, let’s be better!

Jim from Miami

MP: Except for the Indy 500, the series places its races on the weekends its TV partners have said they can or can’t be there, so some of the weird gaps are due to the ability/inability to send trucks, cameras, and crews to support events when they have other live events to cover that take precedence over IndyCar. I hope we get back to a place where IndyCar is so important, other events get bumped for live coverage.

Q: I have now read in two different places that rumors of a return to the Milwaukee Mile may be in play. Can you elaborate on where these rumors are coming from and if they have any traction? Would this be for next year if everything went as planned? Would this be in place of Texas if that race is not renewed? Or could this be an addition to the schedule even if Texas is on the schedule?

Ryan Lake Villa, IL

MP: For me, they’ve come from people I know in the paddock stopping me and telling me they’ve heard Milwaukee is under consideration for a return. Then I take stock of who all I’m hearing it from and assess whether they’re quality sources or jokers, and in this instance, the folks I heard it from were quality voices. Doesn’t mean it’s accurate or happening, but it wasn’t something to immediately rule out. I saw IndyCar CEO Mark Miles on pit lane and asked him about it, and he didn’t say yes or no, which isn’t uncommon when I ask such things, but he also added that bringing a new oval onto the calendar next year wasn’t part of the series’ immediate plans. Things can always change, so we’ll see if Texas gets a new deal or if IndyCar does need to go find a replacement oval.

Q: Wondering why the electronic car position display works well on IMSA cars but is deemed to not be usable for IndyCars? It's such an informative item in the pits and during the race that maybe it should be reconsidered for the next Dallara cars.

Igor Gamarra, Buena Park, CA

MP: It’s the most popular topic on RACER.com! The original LED panels from 2015 worked without any major issues. Only downside was they were fairly large. It was the move to new and smaller LED panels made by a new vendor that led to problems. As IndyCar told me, it was the unique vibrations and frequencies the cars experience that wreaked havoc on the panels as little connections in the devices rattled apart and stopped working. Fixes were tried, but alas, the very different type of vehicle, at very different speeds, is where what works so well on prototypes and GTs has been a non-starter in IndyCar.

Q: In a recent Mailbag, Jeff from Florida mentioned a “bunch of foreigners,” referring to the IndyCar grid. He has a point. (It may well be one of a number of factors why NASCAR has so many more eyes watching).

IndyCar, while having a global fan base, is a North American series and needs to check that the drivers represent that fact. I’m not sure that the series can do much, but 50% minimum must be the optimum rather than the present eight full-time American drivers out of 27.

Oliver Wells

MP: Meh. We’re a country of foreigners. The most popular era of IndyCar in my lifetime was when Mansell, Zanardi, Montoya, de Ferran, Castroneves, Kanaan, Franchitti, Papis, Blundell, Fernandez, da Matta, Fittipaldi, Moreno, etc., were massive draws. Michael, Little Al, Vasser, Herta, Pruett, Moore, and a few other American/Canadian drivers were big, too, but I have never bought the "Americans want to watch Americans" thing because Americans come from all the countries represented by those "foreign drivers." The IRL sure didn’t draw crowds or TV rating with its effort to pack the grid with Americans, and if we look at how F1 is currently challenging or beating IndyCar for ratings in America, it’s pretty clear that a series that’s 100-percent comprised of non-American drivers is not an issue.

Q: I just read the comment by FN in the March 23 Mailbag regarding the announcers being too quiet in comparison to the racing action. I find the exact opposite to be true. A huge part of automobile racing is the sound. It is very offensive to hear an over-excited announcer yelling over the beautiful sound of internal combustion engines. The most bothersome example of this happens at the start of every F1 race. The standing starts provide the sweetest sound in racing and are ruined by the yelling.

Formula 1 is not the only culprit, however, and this occurs (though not to that extreme level) in IndyCar too. NASCAR announcers sometimes forget to call the race at all when they get involved in a story they want to tell.

The actual reason we watch ­– the racing – deserves more respect than is often given. Save the over-dramatized excitement for radio broadcasts. On video it is easy to see that “he’s going around the corner.” I don't think I hold this opinion alone.

Tommy Boy

MP: We get that in sports cars too, with inane screaming and fluffing of what is just normal motor racing. I wonder how far away we are from being able to control our own sound channels coming from the broadcasts.

Q: There is only one reason for us not having a 33-car entry list at this point for the 106th Indy 500 that makes sense. This is clearly a power move by the league's strongest teams, and sadly, the second time in four years that the owners are trying to advocate for a re-implementation of the 25-8 rule at the Brickyard.

Guaranteed spots are what they have to be going after here by not making chassis lends to other entities available, and now that they seem to be trying to go under the table to pull it off this time around, it is really a slap in the face to the rest of the grid in IndyCar, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, its sponsors, and the fans who religiously back the sport.

Matt, South Bend, IN

MP: The part that hasn’t been mentioned enough by me is Dallara has had new tubs and most of the rest of the DW12 package ready for purchase, and even if all of the cars had been sold, they say they can deliver a new car about a month after the money is wired. The limiting factor for all of those trying to be the 33rd or 34th entry is a lack of owning a car, or a lack of money to lease and engine, tires, and to run for the month. So, while there’s no doubt that most teams are being very protective of their extra cars and equipment and crews, buying a car is the first step in taking back the power others hold over you. I’ve shared that exact sentiment with two prospective Indy entrants in recent days.

Q: I'm curious if you know the correct pronunciation of Takuma's name. I was at Mike's Speedway Lounge after a 2004 F1 race and I met a bloke who claimed to be a friend and pronounced his name "Tak-a-mo." Any help here?

Peter Carey, San Bruno, CA

MP: According to YouTube, this is how it’s done for English speakers.

And here’s his name being spoken in Japanese:

Bloke at the pub says his name is pronounced "Scoot." Image by Penske Entertainment

Q: I live in Dallas and have been to TMS for the IndyCar race before.  I was seriously thinking about it, but the ticket prices for decent seats versus a seat in front of my big-screen TV made it a no-brainer for me.

David

MP: I’ve heard that same comment more and more since the race ended, David. Of the many things IndyCar and TMS need to figure out if they do end up signing a new contract, a major fix is to be found with doing single-day IndyCar tickets that don’t cost a fortune and/or aren’t tied to buying full-season/NASCAR tickets.

Q: I recall you talking about lack of pit lane spaces in Toronto due to the reconfiguring of the track due to downtown expansion. Is that going to be a problem this year with 27 full-time cars?

Joe Mullins

MP: IndyCar tells me they can accommodate 24-25 cars right now and they’re working on making space for more.

Q: The less-mentioned side story to KMag's F1 return is Peugeot delaying its Le Mans return. I have a theory. I could be wrong, I usually am. Does it have anything to do with it trying to build a race car with no rear wing?

Shawn in MD

MP: I’d put it down to having no need to rush and wanting to succeed when they’re ready. Peugeot’s last prototype program was awesome, and produced a lot of wins, but generated just one Le Mans victory from five tries. With the benefit of being able to go live whenever they want, I’d make the same decision to slow-roll the process.

Q: 1) Milwaukee? Please Roger, make it happen. 2) When the new car/engine comes out, how much of a difference can a very-good-to-great driver make in separating his/herself from the competition – at least in the short/mid-term? Obviously the driver/engineer combo is the package but is the likelihood high for someone to nail it from the start and run away and hide early in the season??

Mike

MP: I don’t anticipate we’ll see drivers distinguish themselves more than others, maybe barring those who have a lot of energy recovery system experience, but those who don’t will quickly learn the best methods to harvest and deploy the electronic horsepower.

Q: I started thinking about your Mailbag answer about "fit and finish" and thought of two more possibilities which maybe you can confirm or debunk. 1) Penske cars always have the chrome A-arms/wishbones to all wheels, while Ganassi is the maybe only other one – is that a minuscule aerodynamic advantage, or just a personal "quality appearance" preference on their part? 2) I remember on the pre-DW12 crapwagons when the side mirror design changed, and I believe the first version had a hole in the center of the mirror mounts, and the new version was one solid piece (or maybe vice versa), but different teams continued to vary in their use of which one.  Fit and finish/aero advantage for the solid ones? I would think so, but I’m just a casual observer. As you say, a million little things add up…

Randy Mizelle, NC

MP: RP’s had everything polished since he started the team 50-plus years ago. Had the floor painted in Gasoline Alley, too. I have a few of the pre-DW12 mirrors and yes, there were plenty of creative solutions before IndyCar stepped in and went spec.

Q: I have some serious concerns about the world of sports car racing. Last week I wrote in asking why the Hypercars in WEC were two seconds a lap slower at Sebring than the LMP2-based DPi cars of IMSA, and you made a comment about how the upcoming GTP cars will be even slower. Slower than the current LMP2 cars... Which just makes me ask, what's going to happen to LMP2?

I think it was a big mistake forcing all LMP2 cars to use the Gibson V8. It just led to literally everyone using the ORECA chassis, and now P2 is just a spec class. Makes it easy on the BoP people, but makes it quite boring for people who follow sports car racing. Racing is always better with multiple manufacturers and cars that look and perform differently.

The current P2 cars are as fast as the mighty Audi and Peugeot 5.5L diesels of the late 2000s. That's just ridiculous – and the supposed "Hyper" cars are barely faster than the P2 cars. Hyper? More like Humdrum.... Absolutely nothing "hyper" about the fact that the cars are getting slower.

The only thing that makes sense (to me) is to make P2 like it was pre-Gibson, when the manufacturers were using production-based engines, and there was actually some diversity in the field. Slap a 450-500hp limit on the class, and apply BoP so that Dallara, Ligier, Multimatic have a chance to win. Slap a homologation minimum of 100 production engines per year (or 10,000...) and let privateers use engines from Corvettes, Lambos, Ferraris etc., with a restricted max hp. Or, set rev limits like Grand Am did with the original (horribly ugly) DP cars. There's plenty of ways to even very different cars out.

Or, just get rid of P2. There's very little difference in the pace of the Hyper and P2 classes anyway, and it really concerns me that the most popular class (by car count) in Prototype racing is in such a state of uncertainty. There are routinely 10+ P2 cars in every WEC race, and the number of P2s in IMSA is growing as well.

The GTP and Hyper car classes are obviously meant for the manufacturers who have a hundred million dollars to throw at a race program, but P2 is super-important because that's where the privateers live.

Any word on what's going to replace P2 and when? Having P2 cars winning overall at Daytona, Sebring or Le Mans would be very, very embarrassing for IMSA, the FIA, and/or the ACO.

I'm excited to see all the new cars from Porsche, Cadillac, Peugeot, etc., but I'm also concerned that in five years we'll be right back to where we are now, with super-low car count in the top class of sports car racing.

Having only four cars in the top class at Le Mans is embarrassing and ridiculous.

Is this yet another case of the ACO just screwing things up, or is there someone else that I can vent my fury towards?

Mike in Tampa

MP: There are more of the WEC’s Hypercars coming from Peugeot and Ferrari, etc., so it’s a temporary issue. On the GTP front, the cars are getting heavier without a giant spike in power, so that’s where the anticipated lap time increase will come from. I imagine once IMSA gets a handful of new-for-2023 GTP cars in motion with private testing this summer, they’ll invite an LMP2 or two to join in and help benchmark the respective performances of both. I won’t be surprised if we see a slight dialing down of the LMP2 class if that’s what’s needed to maintain class separation.

There's still more "hyper" to come from the WEC's new top class. JEP/Motorsport Images

Q: Burnouts and donuts are a tradition in post-race celebrations in IndyCar and NASCAR. Do these damage any components of the car that may be used in the future?

Steve in Florida

MP: Only concerns I hear about is banging the engine off the rev limiter and worries about placing excessive stress on the valvetrain and rotating bits.

Q: Here is this week’s Mailbag letter about the starting command at the Indianapolis 500. This is why it should be gender-specific: tradition! It is important to keep this alive as part of Tony Hulman’s heritage with the 500. The fans looked forward to hearing him each year with that powerful command. At least for us old-timers (at the age of 65, I’ll be attending my 59th in May) this is something that should never change.

In ’77, the three top news stories leading up to the 500 were: 1. The 200mph qualifying speed, 2. A woman had qualified (Janet Guthrie), and 3. What was Tony Hulman going to say for the starting command. As history has recorded it, Tony’s command was a great tribute to Janet and he got those four important words in as well. Gentlemen or Ladies and Gentlemen should be kept at Indy forever. Some things should never change and this is one tradition we need the Speedway to hold onto.

Tommy DeHarde, Luling, LA

MP: Thanks for sharing your perspective, Mr. DeHarde.

Q: "Drive to Survive" is widely popular and credited for a large increase in F1 fandom – at least in the States. There’s been a groundswell of support for an IndyCar version.  In DTS almost all characters, from team principals on down, use the F-word like it’s candy. It’s interesting how this seems to not be a detriment to the sponsorships that are orders of magnitude greater than IndyCar’s.

I can’t see how this would fly in IndyCar and it’s a fascinating dichotomy to me. What say you?

Mike DeQuardo, Waukesha, WI

MP: We tend to be a bit more puritanical in 'Murrica, so I’d have to agree on the rampant curse words landing poorly with our sponsors. Some comedians can’t do a set without loading it with curse words while others who are just as funny can do their set without the word bombs. Gotta believe we could come up with a IndyCar DTS without it being blue.

Q: I watched the IndyCar race at Texas Motor Speedway and thought it was a very exciting race. It reminded me of great races at Pocono, Fontana and Michigan.  However, I could not understand why PJ1 is positive for tire grip with NASCAR race cars but negative for tire grip with IndyCars. That doesn't make sense to me.

I hope IndyCar returns to TMS, I think it is one of the most fun to watch races on the circuit.  IndyCar needs more oval track races like TMS.

Kevin P., Los Angeles, CA

MP: Amen, Kev.

Q: How come IndyCars don't have the porpoising issue the F1 cars are having right now? Also, I recall Champ Car using the in-helmet camera (that is so innovative now) way back when.  How come it never took off back then, or am I mis-remembering?

Darren Weiss

MP: Totally different cars and aerodynamics, Darren. The in-helmet camera was very cool; as Champ Car lost its way and was relegated to smaller TV deals and smaller cable outlets, the fun came to an end.

Q: Given what happened at Sebring, doesn’t it look to you as if 2023 will bring the mother of all BoP controversies as IMSA and FIA/WEC try to align the top prototype classes with two sets of rules? With the DPi cars in the 12 Hours lapping substantially faster than the Hypercars in the Sebring 1000, combined with the WEC’s ham-handed effort to cripple the Toyota, it seems to me that the warning signs are ominous.

How do you think Peugeot, Ferrari, and other manufacturers planning more-expensive LMH entries are going take being slower than the cheaper GTPs? Or, conversely, what would Porsche think about being hobbled by BoP restraints? Long-term, it can’t be good for FIA/WEC/ACO to pissing off the biggest automaker in the world.

Al

MP: Well, the good thing is all the manufacturers you've mentioned, and all who will play in the LMH/LMDh/GTP space, with the exception of Peugeot, have spent years upon years of racing under BoP in prototypes or GTs, so there's nothing new to see here. What will be new is the size of the BoP mess to manage with two distinctly different prototype formulas and keeping a bunch of big-name brands happy. Whatever the level of stress Michael Masi felt after getting the F1 season finale wrong will pale in comparison to the unbearable stress the IMSA/WEC prototype manufacturers will apply to the teams in charge of BoP. That's the rub. There's always at least one loser with each new BoP table, but that's what the manufacturers have agreed to race under, so my sympathies are limited.

Q: A couple of letters and answers in Mailbag recently suggested Santino Ferrucci is an unpopular figure in the IndyCar paddock.

Can you expand on that? I do recall his (and his wealthy father's) appalling attitudes and actions back when he was in F2 in Europe resulting in a four-race ban and subsequent firing by the team. He clearly has talent. What is his problem?

Anthony Jenkins, Ontario, Canada

MP: Say his name in a conversation with many full-time drivers, and they don't have nice things to say. Whether those reactions have been earned from one-on-one interactions with Santino, or come as part of a reputation in the paddock, is up for debate. I'm not saying he doesn't have any friends in the paddock, but he ​wouldn't win a popularity contest, that's for sure. I've liked the kid for most of the time I've known him, for whatever that's worth.

Q: I'm curious why Tony Stewart's name rarely comes up when people are discussing drivers who excelled in multiple forms of competition. It is hard to count the number of races he won on various surfaces on short tracks. More importantly, he is the only driver to ever win titles in both Indy cars (IRL) and NASCAR. And he won three NASCAR titles and is the only driver to have won titles under the traditional format and the Chase format.

Would love to read your take on this.

Bob Isabella, Mentor, OH

MP: I'd guess that it's due to Tony's success being found largely in oval disciplines. I know he won a bunch of NASCAR road races, but being an IRL oval ace and a sprint/midget oval ace and a NASCAR oval ace isn't the same thing as crossing over to something truly unfamiliar and being a big success in series that are different to your expertise. No question he's an all-time talent. Just not someone who comes to mind with the true all-rounders who found success at Indy, Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring, etc.

Stewart was on track for a Rolex 24 win in 2004 until the car suffered a mechanical problem in the final 20 minutes while leading by five(!) laps. He came back the following year with Jan Lammers and Andy Wallace, and the trio rallied back from a broken gearbox to finish third (above). That was his only podium from five starts at the event. Denis Tanney/Motorsport Images

Q: I was curious that several letters last week mentioned the PJ compound. During the broadcast they actually said this was something different called "resin" which was doing better than the PJ compounds. Can you explain the differences?

Tim B.

MP: I'm guessing they were referring to the PJ1 as resin; I'm not aware of a non-PJ1 substance being used on the track surface.

Q: Drivers who were mechanics first -- would it be appropriate to go back a bit and say Juan Manuel Fangio? Of course, he first drove a Chevy coupe on dirt and open roads and a single-seater on dirt ovals before he did Formula 1.

Allen

MP: There were lots of mechanics who were drivers dating back to the 1890s when racing got its start, and the tradition continued long afterwards to include JMF.

Q: I was watching a replay of the 2011 Indy 500 on YouTube and found it very interesting they had Push-to-Pass and they lined up two-wide on restarts.

Have either of these been used in the 500 before 2011? I have to say, I’m glad they no longer use P2P in the 500 as it seems too gimmicky and the racing is already good without it. However, I did find the two-wide restarts interesting. Was this a one-time experiment? I’m assuming it went away due to driver safety concerns?

JP, Detroit

MP: Lots of experimentation back then with former CEO Randy Bernard in play. The majority of the drivers weren't in love with the two-wide restarts so that experiment didn't last long.

Q: Long-running joke and proverbial punchline in recent years, but I'm going to ask the question anyway: With the announcement of the upcoming test dates for the new IndyCar hybrid engine, do you have any recent updates (beyond your latest article several weeks ago) or rumors you can share with that elusive third engine manufacturer? There, I actually asked the question!

Jim, Indy

MP: I did hear an interesting item related to the third engine supplier in a call last week, but I haven't had the time to chase it and see where it leads. If it has merit, you know I'll share it in a RACER.com story ASAP.

Q: This question actually appeared in the March 9 edition of the RACER Mailbag, but Marshall asked me to send it again because Firestone's Cara Adams was out of the office at that time. So, I'm writing this again.

It’s known that the right-rear tire is larger in diameter than the left-rear tire when IndyCar races on ovals. What are the main differences between oval tires and road/street course tires in terms of the construction and the compound? Do oval tires have the stiffer sidewall construction than road/street course tires?

Mitsuki Matsuura, Kanagawa, Japan

MP: “Oval tires must withstand higher speeds and loads than road and street course tires. Oval right-side tires are our most durable (stiffest) constructions and compounds, followed by oval left sides. Additionally, oval tires help the car turn left, while road course tires must turn well both left and right.” Cara Adams, Director, Race Tire Engineering and Manufacturing, Firestone.

Q: F1 and Saudi Arabia -- they’re never going back, right?  Feel free to ignore this question completely if responding isn’t in your own best interest.

Ryan in West Michigan

CHRIS MEDLAND: I'm not so sure. I think the attitude of the drivers is very much that they're never going back, but F1 will probably kick the can down the road for a while then try and revisit the subject at a later date when the emotions aren't so raw. Realistically, they shouldn't even be considering going back if there's still an active conflict in the region, but if that is brought to an end before next year's race then the amount of money it pays to be on the calendar will mean F1 wants to keep it there.

Q: To bastardize a quote from the late, great, Harry Carey, “As sure as God made green apples, F1 will kill a driver one day due to their lack of a permanent and effective safety team.”

I’m old enough to remember counting the minutes while Ralf Schumacher sat in his Williams after striking the outside wall of Turn 1 at IMS in the 2000s and wondering why it was taking so long for any safety or medical personnel to get to him.  I’m now watching the cleanup of Mick Schumacher's accident in qualifying at Jeddah and asking myself why F1 still maintains a third-rate safety system consisting of two medical personnel that can take up to two or three minutes to get to a scene depending on the accident location with limited firefighting, medical equipment, and extraction equipment.

F1 doesn’t have to re-invent the wheel, it just has to descend from its self-anointed throne of motorsport hierarchy, put aside its sizable egos, and ask IndyCar or IMSA how they do four trucks plus staging locations plus communications at Road America and St. Pete and Mid-Ohio and Long Beach. Certainly for F1, four equipped trucks, plus personnel, plus required yearly training, would be covered by taking the team principals and shaking the change out of their pockets once every race weekend. 

We got lucky this time that we aren’t filming tributes to play next weekend and keeping the sticker makers busy so we can properly memorialize Mick, but the thing about luck is it doesn’t respond to any stimulus of ours. It just runs out eventually. 

Eric Lawrence

CM: I think Jeddah was a rare case. We noticed it from Friday when there were some crashes in Formula 2, and it took a long time for anyone to get to the drivers after their bit hits. One of them – Cem Bolukbasi – was concussed and ruled out of the rest of the race weekend. Many other circuits have cut-throughs the medical car can use, and ambulances strategically placed around the venue for quick access, so I think the bigger issue is how a relatively new track that already has an unnecessarily dangerous layout was then allowed to also make medical access tricky. Fire marshals are stationed all around the tracks too, but last weekend only local marshals were used instead of getting support from Bahraini marshals with F1 experience, and it showed. Everything was too slow.

There was even a case of a local marshal in Saudi Arabia tweeting that he hoped Lewis Hamilton had a crash like Romain Grosjean in Bahrain. That led to his swift removal from his post, but goes to show the vetting standards need improving at many venues so you have professional, fast-acting, reliable marshals.

But I'd also make the point that it isn't down to luck that Mick was unharmed in the accident, and even fit to race if Haas had felt it was worth rebuilding the car. The safety systems in these cars are absolutely mind-blowing, and were beefed up even more so this season – so much so that Schumacher's chassis and power unit are expected to be re-used because they withstood the impact, protected Mick and didn't sustain damage themselves. That's the first line of defense, and it's an extremely strong one, but you're right that the safety nets surrounding it could do with sharpening up in some locations.

The Saudi barriers just about did their job; not so sure about some of the marshals. Sam Bloxham/Motorsport Images

Q: Is it just me, or did the Saudi Arabia F1 circuit appear to have a dearth of SAFER barriers (or the F1 equivalent) along the length of its course? Would a SAFER barrier have significantly helped in Mick Schumacher's crash? IMHO, Mick got extremely lucky in the crash, and perhaps Haas would have had more of a car to work with in order to go racing on Sunday if there had been SAFER barriers in place where Schumacher impacted the wall. What do you say?

Lee Jackson, Garland, TX

CM: The SAFER barriers are strategically placed, largely on the outside of corners where a driver might end up going straight on due to contact or a failure. In Mick's case the angle of the barrier actually helped him, because it deflected the car further along the track – he crashed exiting Turn 10 but came to a rest on the run to Turn 13. It meant the energy of the impact wasn't as big as it could have been – 33G is a relatively low number compared to what would have happened if he'd come to an immediate halt in a different type of barrier.

You're right about the car damage, but it showed how much energy was dissipating, and a sudden stop on the exit of a blind bend in a corner could be even worse. It's a compromise, because I think SAFER barriers during qualifying might have helped (when cars are more spread out) but in a race situation that crash could have blocked the track at that point if he'd stopped in a SAFER barrier or similar, which would be more dangerous with anyone following closely.

THE FINAL WORD

From Robin Miller's Mailbag, March 29, 2016

Q: I was thinking about your article on Eddie Sachs a few weeks ago. When it came to practical jokes, he was the best. I’ve heard funny stories coming from the likes of Ruttman, Rathman, Big Al, Uncle Bobby, Herk, Hinch and even Dario. Can you relate a practical joke story that really tickled you over the years?

Gerry Courtney, San Francisco, CA

ROBIN MILLER: It’s tough to top Uncle Bobby and Parnelli scaring the hell out of David Pearson at Pikes Peak. Unser is driving, Pearson is riding shotgun and Rufus is sitting behind the king of Pikes Peak. Then Parnelli puts his hands over Bobby’s eyes and Unser yells and drives off the road. Pearson has no clue they’re going to land on an access road and figures his life is over. After he realized he wasn’t going to roll down a mountain for 10,000 feet, Pearson got mad. But he never got even.